STATE OF IOWA County
IOWA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH License No.
Bureau of Health Statistics Date of Application
Valid Date of License
APPLICATION TO MARRY IN IOWA
Type or print legibly in black ink. Do not use all capital letters.
PARTY A – INFORMATION (To be completed by the first applicant) (Optional) Bride Groom Spouse
LEGAL NAME BEFORE MARRIAGE
(First) (Middle) (Current Last) (Last name prior to any marriage)
LEGAL NAME AFTER MARRIAGE
(First) (Middle) (Last)
CURRENT RESIDENCE ADDRESS AT TIME OF APPLICATION
GENDER
(State) (County) (City, Town or Location) (Optional)
DATE OF BIRTH BIRTH PLACE
(Month, Day, Year) (State or Foreign Country of Birth)
PARENTS
(Father’s Current Full Name) (Mother’s Full Name Prior to Any Marriage)
PARTY B – INFORMATION (To be completed by the second applicant) (Optional) Bride Groom Spouse
LEGAL NAME BEFORE MARRIAGE
(First) (Middle) (Current last) (Last name prior to any marriage)
LEGAL NAME AFTER MARRIAGE
(First) (Middle) (Last)
CURRENT RESIDENCE ADDRESS AT TIME OF APPLICATION
GENDER
(State) (County) (City, Town or Location) (Optional)
DATE OF BIRTH BIRTH PLACE
(Month, Day, Year) (State or Foreign Country of Birth)
PARENTS
(Father’s Current Full Name) (Mother’s Full Name Prior to Any Marriage)
SIGNATURE NOTARIZATIONS (Show valid identification and sign in front of a Notary Public)
PARTY A SIGNATURE (current legal name) PARTY B SIGNATURE (current legal name)
State of ______________, County of ________________________ ss State of ______________, County of ________________________ ss
Signed and affirmed in my presence _______________________________ Signed and affirmed in my presence _______________________________
Write name exactly as it appears on photo I.D. Write name exactly as it appears on photo I.D.
________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________
Notary Public’s Signature Date Signed Notary Public’s Signature Date Signed
________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________
Notary Address & Expiration Notary Address & Expiration
SEAL/STAMP SEAL/STAMP
* * * CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION REQUIRED BY LAW – NOT FOR PUBLIC VIEWING * * *
PARTY A – SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER PARTY B – SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER
AFFIDAVIT OF COMPETENT AND DISINTERESTED PERSON
as to age and qualification of the contracting parties
The State of , County, ss.
I, affirm that I am acquainted with
, who is years of age; and that I am acquainted with
, who is years of age.
I affirm that I am a lawfully competent and disinterested person and impartial to the result of this pending transaction. I
further depose and say that they are both unmarried and capable of entering into any civil contract, that there is no legal
disability to the marriage of said parties, and that their marriage is to be solemnized in the State of Iowa.
(Print Name Legibly) (Street Address)
(Signature) (City, State, Zip Code)
NOTARY PUBLIC SIGNATURE TO AFFIDAVIT OF DISINTERESTED PERSON
State of , County of ss
Signed and affirmed in my presence
Write name exactly as it appears on photo I.D.
Notary Public’s Signature Date Signed
Notary Address & Expiration
SEAL/STAMP
Notary Public cannot serve as disinterested person.
NOTICE TO APPLICANTS: PLEASE READ CAREFULLY!
• Applicants age 16 or 17 years old must also present a completed Consent to Marriage form for approval to a judge of the district
court in the county from which the marriage license is to be obtained.
• Per the Code of Iowa, Section 595.3A: The laws of this state affirm your right to enter into this marriage and at the same time to
live within the marriage under the full protection of the laws of this state with regard to violence and abuse. Neither of you is the
property of the other. Assault, sexual abuse, and willful injury of a spouse or other family member are violations of the laws of this
state and are punishable by the state.
• Applicants’ social security numbers are collected in accordance with Iowa Code Section 595.4 and 42 USC 405(c)(2), as amended
by Section 1090(b) of Public Law 105-34. The law authorizes the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to use the social security
numbers for determining Earned Income Tax Credit compliance on income tax returns and to authorize the State Registrar to report
the social security number to the Child Support Recovery Unit.
• $35.00 fee must accompany this application.
• Return this form and fee to the County Registrar of Vital Records in the county where you want your record to be filed.
• Review Marriage Instructions handout for more details about obtaining the certified copy of your Certificate of Marriage.
Please complete below if you wish the County Registrar to follow-up if your marriage record has not been filed
within one year of your anticipated date.
Anticipated Ceremony Date ____________________ Anticipated Officiant ____________________________________
588-0224VR (REV. APRIL 2009))
STATE OF IOWA
MARRIAGE INSTRUCTIONS
IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF APPLICANTS TO READ THIS CAREFULLY BEFORE MAKING APPLICATION!
General Information:
In Iowa, a license to marry may be applied for only from
Making Application:
a County Registrar. These officials also perform County 1. Each party should complete your own designated
Recorder functions and have offices either in a county section on the front side of the Application to Marry in Iowa
courthouse or county administration building. and the confidential information at the bottom. Type or print
legibly. Do NOT use all capital letters.
• Marriage licenses issued in Iowa are valid ONLY for
marriage ceremonies performed within the boundaries of the 2. Legal Names. List your current full legal names as
State of Iowa by authorized officiants as defined in Iowa Code your names before marriage. Include your name as it appears
section 595.10. on your birth certificate (i.e., your name prior to any
marriage). Also list your legal names as they are to be after
• All parties involved in the marriage ceremony must be in the marriage ceremony. Your legal names after marriage are
the same geographic location. At a minimum, the parties to be determined when you complete the Application to Marry in
married, the officiant, and two witnesses must be physically Iowa, which is notarized and legally binding by law.
present.
• Per Iowa Code section 595.5, applicants may adopt a
Iowa law provides that marriage is a civil contract legal name change through marriage. However, an individual
between two persons who must be (1) 18 years of age or may only have one legal name at any one time. Once the
older; (2) not already or still legally married to someone else name change takes effect after the marriage ceremony, a court
or to each other; (3) not closely related by blood or first order or another legal action is required to change it again,
cousins; and (4) legally competent to enter into a civil except for obvious typographical errors.
contract. • A name change acquired through marriage will not affect
• Minors. Persons aged 16 and 17 may only marry with your name as it appears on your birth certificate. The name on
special permission from a judge and should request a the birth certificate is the name prior to any marriage and is
“Consent to Marriage of a Minor” form when making asked for when establishing a child’s birth record. If you
application for their marriage license. Complete the form and were adopted, your legal name after the adoption now appears
present it to a judge within the same judicial district as the on your birth certificate.
county in which you wish your license issued. The Clerk of 3. Notarized Signatures. Each party to the marriage
District Court office can provide additional information. application must sign in front of an authorized Notary Public
Return the signed form to the County Registrar in order to that is not a family member and follows all other criteria
complete the marriage application process. required of notary publics. County Registrars, by law, are
authorized to provide notary public service for vital records
Persons who wish to marry in Iowa, and who meet the purposes. You may also use another notary public service and
above criteria, may complete an “Application to Marry in return the Application to Marry in Iowa form to the County
Iowa” form. All items on the application, other than those Registrar in the county you want your marriage record to be
marked optional, must be completed to process the request on file.
for a License to Marry in Iowa, including the Affidavit of
• By signing, you are attesting that the information you
Competent and Disinterested Person on the reverse side of the
provided on the “Application to Marry in Iowa” is correct to
application form.
the best of your knowledge and belief and that you are legally
• Applicants are NOT required to be U.S. citizens; able to marry. The notary public is required by law to ask for
however, all parties must provide satisfactory proof of satisfactory proof of identification that also has your
identification to the notary public upon signing their previously signed signature on it. Parties to the marriage
application to marry. application are responsible for reporting accurate and true
information, not the notary public or the County Registrar.
Applications may only be obtained from a County 4. Affidavit of Competent and Disinterested Person.
Registrar’s office, either in person or by mail. An individual of legal age who is acquainted with both parties
who plan to marry is required to complete the affidavit on the
• Applications can be returned by either of the applicants to back of the marriage application and sign it in front of a
the county in which the application and marriage certificate notary public. This person must be unbiased regarding the
are to be filed. The county of license does NOT have to be result of the pending marriage and competent to enter a civil
the same county in Iowa in which the marriage ceremony contract. A family member may serve as the disinterested
takes place. person if he or she meets these criteria.
April 2009
5. Fee. The fee is due upon application for the License to $5.00 fee payable to the County Registrar to waive the waiting
Marry. The fee is $35.00 and includes a certified copy of the period. The parties are responsible for locating a judge within
Certificate of Marriage. The fee is NOT refundable if the the judicial district of the county in which they are filing the
marriage does not occur. marriage license to grant the waiver.
• When the Officiant files the Certificate of Marriage in the
county of license, the County Registrar will review and The Ceremony:
register the record. The parties will then be issued a certified
1. License to Marry in Iowa. The License to Marry in
copy of their Certificate of Marriage in care of the couple’s
Iowa may be used after its “valid date.” Present a copy to
most current address as known by the Registrar’s office.
your officiant (i.e., person authorized by law to perform
• Per Iowa Code section 595.13, the person who performed marriage ceremonies). The “license” is proof that proper
the ceremony (the Officiant) is required to return the Application to Marry in Iowa has been made. The license
completed and signed certificate form within 15 days after the does NOT prove that the marriage event occurred.
ceremony.
2. Certificate Form. The County Registrar will also give
• If you know you’ll need a certified copy of your marriage you the original state copy of the Certificate of Marriage form.
record right away, ask your Officiant to submit the record for The officiant must complete the lower portion of the form
registration as soon as possible after the ceremony. By law, immediately after your marriage ceremony. Please write
the County Registrar is not authorized to verify over the phone legibly in black ink to ensure an accurate recording of
whether or not the record has been received for registration.
your marriage! Sign your legal name after marriage as you
• It is the sole responsibility of the parties to provide the designated and notarized on your marriage application. Two
County Registrar with any updated mailing information. persons present at the ceremony, as well as the officiant, must
Updates should be made on the form provided for that also sign the form and print their names. The signing
purpose and issued with the License to Marry in Iowa. witnesses must be of an age and competency to enter a civil
Updates must be made in writing and signed. contract themselves. Photocopies of the Certificate of
6. Optional Sections: Bride/Groom/Spouse and Gender. Marriage prior to registration are prohibited.
There are two optional sections on the Application to Marry in 3. Registration. Within 15 days after your marriage
Iowa. The first allows each party to the marriage the option of ceremony, your officiant (the person who married you) must
designating a title – bride, groom, or spouse – to be included file for registration the state copy of the Certificate of
on the Certificate of Marriage. If you want to be referred to as Marriage to the County Registrar that issued your marriage
either bride, groom or spouse on your Certificate of Marriage, license. The officiant may NOT affix any kind of seal to the
check the box in front of your preferred designation. If you Certificate of Marriage.
do not want to be referred to as bride, groom or spouse, then
4. Certified Copy. Once registered, the County Registrar
do not check any of the boxes, and none of those titles will be
will issue you a certified copy of your Certificate of Marriage
designated on your Certificate of Marriage.
automatically per Iowa Code section 595.16A. The parties are
The second optional field is gender. Gender is collected for responsible for including the Address Update form with the
statistical purposes so that accurate data regarding marriages marriage record being returned for registration.
performed in Iowa can be maintained. If you want to provide
your gender, indicate “male” or “female” following “gender” Additional certified copies of the Certificate of Marriage
on the Application to Marry in Iowa form If you do not want record may be obtained from either the County Registrar in
to provide your gender, then do not fill in the gender section the county of license or from the state vital records office.
and your gender will not be indicated on your Certificate of The current fee for certified copies is $15.00.
Marriage. The Certificate of Marriage and the Application to Marry
in Iowa are public records available for inspection at the
License to Marry: county level per Iowa Code section 144.43. However, your
Once the County Registrar receives the completed social security number is maintained as confidential and will
Application to Marry in Iowa, either of the parties to the not be released to the public.
application may pick up the license any time after three
business days. If the license is not picked up within six Name Change Notification:
months from the date of application, the application is You must change your name directly with businesses and
considered null and void. government agencies (e.g., SSA, DOT) if you changed your
Application received on: License ready to issue: legal name through marriage. Most organizations will ask to
see the certified copy of your Certificate of Marriage record.
Monday Thursday There should be no cost involved.
Tuesday Friday
Wednesday Monday Once you complete these transactions, put your certified
Thursday Tuesday copy in a safe, protected location to avoid identity theft or
Friday Wednesday damage to the safety paper (which would void your copy).
Holidays may alter the above schedule. If the parties
wish to waive the 3-day waiting period, they may request a
waiver application form from the County Registrar. There is a
April 2009